Iron Maiden are so metal. How metal are they? So metal that they have the government of an entire country trying to get a poster promoting their upcoming Book of Souls tour banned. No, really. Lithuania is trying to ban their tour poster because it is, in their minds, too scary for children.
The post in question features Eddie, Iron Maiden’s mascot, holding his own bleeding heart in his outstretched arm, with blood pouring from the gaping hole in his chest. Is it a bit gruesome? Absolutely, and apparently it’s too much for Lithuania. The country apparently has “child-protection” laws that seeks to keep children under 14 from “negative information.” That’s an entirely different kettle of fish, and it would take more nuance to litigate the logistics of that, but what matters is that there are people calling to ban the poster by citing these laws.
While these posters have evidently been used around the world to promote Iron Maiden’s upcoming tour, their stop in Kaunas, Lithuania has led to this issue. There are also calls apparently to pull ads for the show from public places and banning websites advertising the show. All because of a monster man who doesn’t even look realistic holding his bleeding heart in his hand. Iron Maiden has not commented on the situation. At least we know that Helen Lovejoy is probably planning a trip to Lithuania now.
(Via Billboard)
